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Beldaran
04-28-2003, 03:45 AM
This is quite possible my favorite speech ever. Ever. It is from the movie "Patton", which is about the famous General George S. Patton who was a WWII general. The speech is taken from real excerpts from Patton's speeches, and compiled into this, one of my favorite monologues ever:


...Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you've heard about America not wanting to fight - wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost and never will lose a war, because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Now, an army is a team - it lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap... Now, we have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. You know, by god, I actually pity those poor bastards we're goin' up against. By god, I do. We're not just gonna shoot the bastard, we're going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun bastards by the bushel. Now, some of you boys, I know, are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you will all do your duty. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them, spill their blood, shoot them in the belly. When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do. Now there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose and we're gonna kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time and we're gonna go through him like crap through a goose. Now, there's one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home, and you may thank god for it. Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you: 'What did you do in the Great World War II?', you won't have to say: 'Well, I shoveled s--t in Louisiana.' All right, now you sons-of-bitches, you know how I feel and I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere. That's all.

Rijuhn
04-28-2003, 10:06 PM
Wow, I just got a strong will to join the army just then, but I won't. I'm not going to risk my life so dumb asses who don't deserve the air they breathe can continue to be useless wasteful shit-piles. I'd only fight if the enemy came to my front door step or hurt someone I loved directly. Saying that doesn't make me any less American it just makes me value my life more than anyone elses. Great speech.

TheGeepster
04-29-2003, 02:39 AM
I'm picturing Leslie Neilson saying these words now.. (Impressive speech. Not sure I quite agree with it all, but it is impressive)

Say, anyone know how factual the speech was? I understand Patton was quite the character in his day, but Hollywood has been known to try to improve on the original.

Beldaran
04-29-2003, 03:38 AM
From what I understand, it was pieced together more than anything. I would say that except for semantic adjustments, it is made up entirely of Patton content.

TheGeepster
04-29-2003, 03:41 AM
In that case, Patton was indeed a very interesting man.